Make-and-break igniter.



G. 0. THOMPSON.

MAKE AND BREAK IGNITER.

APPLICATION TILED APR. 26, 1913.

1,102,365, I Patented July 7, 1914.

GiLeER-rQTHoMPsoN- 'l ,Be it known that I, GIIBERT QFFlVE.

GILBERT O. THOMPSON, OF BAN'IRY, NORTH DAKOTA.

MAKE-AND-BREAK IGNITER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July '7, 1914.

Application filed Apri126, 1913. Serial No. 763,851.

To all whom it may concern:

O; THOMP- son, citizen of the; United States, residing at Bantry, in the county of McHenry and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Make and- Break Igniters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to electrical igniters and more particularly to an igniter of that general type known as make and break igniters and has for its primary object to provide an improved form of controlling spring for the movable electrode.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a controlling spring for the movable electrode of an igniter of the above type the majority of the coils of which are tightly wound thereon and movable with said electrode, said spring having an enlarged terminal coil, out of Contact with the electrode, thus eliminating wear of the spring and the electrode and materially prolonging the life and efficiency of the igniter.

It is a further object of the present invention to generally improve the construction of make and break igniters without increasing their manufacturing cost to an ap preci able extent.

With the above and other objects in view as will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrange ments of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim,

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following de scription and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a make and break igniter provided with my improved controlling springs for the movable electrode; Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Figs. land 5 are detail views of the controlling springs; Fig. 6 is a longi-' tudinal section taken on the line li it of Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 1s a section taken on the line 7---7 oi Fig. 6.

parts takes place, grooves being the periphery of the electrode. A further Referring in detail to the drawing where in I have lllustrated a make and break igmter, the general construction of which is well known ,in the art, lOindicatcs the body thereof and 11 the stationary electrode. The movable electrode 12 ismountcd in the body 10 and is provided upon one of its ends with a contact arm 13 for engagementwitli the juxtaposed stationary contact 14-. on one end of the stationary electrode 11. llpon the movable electrode 12, a finger 15 is loosely mounted, said linger being formed upon one end of a sleeve 15. Upon the movable electrode 12 adjacent to the finger 15, a collar segment 12 is formed, said segment at its opposite end presenting shoulders which limit the movement of the finger 15 with respect to the movable electrode 12.

The ignitcr above described is of that general type in which an 'ignitcr bar mounted upon the engine is adapted to engage the finger 15 which in its initial movement moves the electrode 12 to engage the contact arm 13 thcreofwith the contact extension 14 of the stationary electrode, thus closingthe circuit; 'This contactis maintained but a very short time when the igniter rod permits the arm of the movable electrode to swing back quickly, thereby breaking thecircuit and producing a spark within. the engine cylinder. This quick break of the circuit is usually effected by providing helical springs arranged upon the movable electrode at opposits sides of the finger 15. These springs as commonly employed have their convolutions compactly arranged in closeengagementwith eachother and snugly surround the.e1ectrode. W hen the finger with which one end of each spring is engaged is moved, said springs are contracted or placed under tension. The several coils of each spring are thus subjected to rubbing or frictional contact which tends to wear the same. The spring coils also move upon the electrode and a mutual wearing action between these worn in objection to this close winding of the spring coils is that dirt and dust collects between the same and clogs the coils so that their action becomes sluggish and ineii'ective to A 1 has awa s ii .i.. am an as e man-l 13-11.; f; r. 1 .1 1

1,1oaace 1 move therewith. These similar coils of each spring are designated by the numeral 18 and 19 indicates the large terminal coils of the springs which are spaced from'the periphery of the electrode and sleeve 15 respectively. One end of the spring 16 is extended laterally across one face of the finger 15, while the opposedend of the spring 17 is also extended across the face of said finger as indicated at 20 and has its extremity turned at right angles and extended over the edge of said finger, thus eliminating all tendency of the end of the spring to slide ofi of the movable finger. The other end of the spring 17 is suitably fixed to a pin 21 on the end of the movable electrode, while the inner end of the spring 16 at the terminal of the large coil 19 is fixed in an opening 22 provided in the body 10 of the electrode. Upon'the end face of the electrode body adjacent to the opening 22, a pin 23 is secured, said pin being disposed inwardly of the end if the spring coil 19, and acting to tension the same and prevent movement of said coil into frictional contact with the periphery of the sleeve 15 when the same is rotated. A stop pin 24: projects from the end face of the igniter body and limits the movement of the finger 15 in one direction under the action of the springs 16 and 17 From the above description, the operation of the device will be readily understood. As the. spring 17 is considerably stronger than the spring 16, when the igniter rod strikes the finger 15, the movable electrode and the sleeve thereon will be moved as a unit in the body of the igniter and the'arm 13 brought into contact with the contact terminal 14 of the stationary electrode. Continued pressure against the movable finger by the ig- ,niter rod rotates the sleeve 15 upon the mov- {able electrode and places the enlarged end eoils 19 of the springs 16 and 17 under tension. When the ignite! rod is moved out of engagement with the finger 15', the same is returned to its initial position in engagement with the stop pin 2% by expansion of the end coils of the springs, said finger engaging the shoulder at one end of the collar segment 12 to efiect the movement of the movable electrode in the igniter body and disengage the arm 13 from the contact 11 whereby the circuit broken.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that by spacing the contractile convo uniform diameter closely lutions of the springs from the periphery of the electrode and sleeve thereon, mutual wear upon the springs and said sleeve and electrode is eliminated. As the remaining coils of the springs are widely spaced, they will n t become clogged with dust or other foreign matter, whereby perfect action is assured. By eliminating wear upon the parts, a maximum of durability and long life of the springs is obtained.

it' liilel'have shown and described the preferred construction and arrangement of the several elements, it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of considerable modification therein without departing from the essential features or sacrificing any of the advantages of the same.

Having thus described the invention, whati is claimed is 1. The combination with a make and break igniter including a body, a movable electrode and a trip finger for actuating said electrode, of springs arranged upon opposite sides of said finger and each having coils of contacting with the igniter stem, said springs being of different tensional strength, each of said springs having an enlarged terminalcoihthe end of the enlarged 0011 of one spring being engaged with said trip finger and the end of the enlarged coil of the other spring being fixed to the body, the other ends of said springs being secured to the electrode and the trip finger respectively.

2. The combination with a make and break igniter including a body, a movable electrode and a trip finger loosely mounted upon said. electrode for actuating the same, of control springs arranged upon opposite sides of said finger and movable with the electrode, each of the springs having a plurality of spaced convolutions of equal diameter closely wound upon the electrode, one of said springs having an enlarged terminal convolution engaged with said finger, the other of said springs having an enlarged terminal convolution secured to the igniter body, and a pin projecting from said body and engaged by the enlarged convolution of said latter spring.

3. The combination with a make and break igniter including a body, a movable electrode, fixed and loose sleeves mounted upon the electrode and a trip finger on the loose sleeve; of springs arranged upon said sleeves, each of said springs including a plurality of coils intimately engaged by the sleeve" and movable therewith, the corresponding ends of said springs terminating in enlarged coils, the enlarged coil of the spring on the fixed sleeve having its extremity engaged with said trip finger while the enlarged coil of the spring on the loose sleeve is fixed to the igniter body, a pin fined Y in the igniter body and engaged by the en- In testimon whereof I hereunto afiix my larged coil of the latter spring, said ensignature in t e presence of two witnesses. larged coils being capable of expansion. and

contraction withoutmovin v the remaining GILBERT THOMPSON 5 coils upon the respective s eeves, the other A Witnesses:

terminals of saidsprings being seo 'lred to J. EDGAR WAGAR,

the electrode andtrip finger respectively. H. M. WEYDAI'iL.

copier of this patent my be obtained for In cent: each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). 0." 

